The Country with the Most Cars Per Capita in the World

All about San Marino's obsession with cars

It's not all well and good in the Oldest Republic!

Indeed, San Marino holds a rather controversial record, and it’s definitely not one to make Greta Thunberg smile:

There are more cars than people in San Marino.

For a country with fewer than 34,000 residents, there are about 54,000 registered vehicles. That means roughly 1,604 cars for every 1,000 people. Yes, really.

That gives San Marino yet another quirky Guinness World Record:

It’s the country with the highest number of cars per capita in the entire world.

Why so many cars?

Sure, Sammarinese do love their wheels. That might have something to do with being next-door neighbours to Italy’s "Motor Valley" - home to Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ducati, and Maserati.

But there’s another, more practical reason behind this motor madness.

Once upon a railway

Until World War II, San Marino actually had a functioning railway line, connecting it to the nearby city of Rimini. But in 1944, despite being officially neutral, the railway was bombed.

And what did San Marino’s post-war leaders do?

Did they rebuild the railway? Of course not.

They said: "The future is cars!"

So instead of fixing the trains, they built roads. Lots of roads. And to this day, the country remains rail-free. The only traces left of the old line are scattered ruins and one restored section used mostly as a tourist curiosity.

If you’re visiting…

Get ready to drive. Or hop on a coach. There’s no train, no metro, no tram. Just roads. And cars. Everywhere.

On the plus side? San Marino licence plates look amazing.

So while the Republic may be tiny, its car culture is larger than life.